Karen Polle, Margie Engle and Sergio Alvarez Moya stand atop the podium as the top three finishers in the $380,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate CSI5* Grand Prix on Saturday Night.

“I feel disbelief first of all. It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Polle. “The week couldn’t have gone any better. I won both my classes, and my horse jumped unbelievably all week, every jump. He really helped me out, and he felt great tonight. So I’m really, really happy.”

Polle has partnered with her 14-year-old gelding for seven years initially riding him in the junior ranks.

“When I first got him, I didn’t know so, so much — I was still a junior — but I knew he was special,” Polle continued. “I really believed in him, and I didn’t ever feel like there was a jump that was too big for us or a course that was too difficult for us. I’m just really glad that we were able to win because I’ve always felt like he’s a real winner, and I was kind of the one who was holding us back. I’m really glad that we’ve been able to have success now. “

Only four horse-and-rider combinations qualified for the jump-off out of the 39 starters, with many of the top riders surprisingly knocking down rails on the Alan Wade-designed course, taking them out of contention. Polle and With Wings were the only double clear of the evening, earning them their first Saturday night victory of the season.

“This was my first time jumping clear in the first round on Saturday night and my first jump-off,” Polle explained. “My plan was just to go as fast as I could. When there’s only four, I just wanted to go for it, because I was going to get a good ribbon either way. I just picked up a good gallop and tried to be as neat as I could. “

Quentin Judge and HH Conrad, owned by Double H Farm, were the first to jump-off, but they had a less than stellar round garnering 12 faults. Polle followed and her smooth clear round stopped the Rolex timers in 42.42 seconds.

Margie Engle and Royce, owned by Gladewinds Farm, Inc., really went for it taking a hairpin turn to the third fence, but had a rail at the second part of the in-an-out for a total of four faults. The duo finished the class in second place.

Margie Engle and Royce

“He’s felt great all circuit. Karen just was the one to beat this week. She was on fire,” said Engle. “I was very happy with Royce. He’s been riding very well. He jumped well on Thursday and then again tonight. I just jumped in a little big into the double. He tried to get out of the way. I just needed to nip inside. Karen was just very, very good this whole week.”

Spain’s Alvarez Moya was on track to win it all on his Dutch Warmblood gelding Charmeur, but had the final fence down, handing the victory to Polle and finished in third place.

Sergio Alvarez Moya and Charmeur

“I’m very happy the way he jumped today and it’s our first big grand prix,” said Alvarex Moya. “I was very happy when I saw there was only four in the jump-off. I knew they were fast, but I had to be a little careful at the number three. He tried hard. He was very careful, and I’m just very happy with him.”

Polle hopes that this incredible week will be just the beginning of their success together with the goal to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

“I hope to win a lot more classes like this. It’s an unbelievable feeling, and this is why we do this — why we work so hard at home to then come here and be able to win a class like this.,” Polle concluded. “Of course Tokyo 2020 would be my life dream to go to. To be on the home team especially is something a lot of the athletes don’t have the opportunity to do. So that would be a huge, huge goal for me.”